Monday, July 17, 2006

The new Mexican front in the War on Terrorism

The new Mexican front in the War on Terrorism

In May of this year, Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos said that Mexico is in a ``state of rage and social indignation,'' and he warned that the upcoming presidential election will do nothing to stop the discord from intensifying. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14543668.htm

The Zapatista rebellion in 1994 caused a massive change in the direction of Mexico for the indigenous people who had suffered from the economic fallout of NAFTA. That Subcomandante Marcos is now suggesting that another rebellion might be necessary to see the will of the people through what the left have labelled as a corrupted election process will be cause for concern not only for the Mexican elite’s but also for a paranoid United States over the border.

It was interesting to note that soon after Subcomandante Marcos comments, that Bush started to argue for a militarization of the American/Mexican border. If some of the claims by investigative journalist, Greg Palast are indeed true, then we are seeing another election theft in the exact same vein as the Florida theft. http://www.gregpalast.com/stealing-it-in-front-of-your-eyes

Palast reported that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had obtained Mexico’s voter files under a secret "counter-terrorism" contract with the database company ChoicePoint of Alpharetta, Georgia (See BUSH TEAM HELPS RULING PARTY "FLORIDIZE" MEXICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.)The FBI’s contractor states that following the arrest of ChoicePoint agents by the Mexican government, the company returned or destroyed its files. The firm claims not to have known that collecting this information violated Mexican law. Such files can be useful in challenging a voter’s right to cast a ballot or in preventing that vote from counting.

As the perception grows that there has been some Bush inspired conspiracy to rob the Mexican people of their democratic rights, the justification for the Zapatista cause will build and build. As America has found in Somalia, backing the option that guarantees your right to plunder the regions natural resources sometimes meets a local population who are prepared to fight for their rights. It is a lesson that is increasingly burning America’s fingers to the bone.

The election was REALLY close, the difference between the conservative provisional winner (Calderon) and the runner up, Lopez Obrador (here he's known as AMLO after his initials), was less than one percent.

Obviously the US is pleased by the outcome. But I disagree that the election was fixed, or stolen. This is only the second real democratic election Mexico has had. And in Mexico, anything that is democratic is a plus. A big plus. A lot of people on the left around the world will be supporting AMLO in his fight for a recount. I do. But I do not support him as a candidate, any more than I support Calderon, or Madrazo (from the PRI) or his running mate "El Niño Verde" (The leader of the green party).

To put it simply, they are all as bad as each other. A little investigating in to their personal pasts, not to mention their partys pasts(and present), will confirm this sad truth. And this is the real feeling of most people you talk to.

The majority voted for who they considered "el menos malo", the least evil. And provisionally it turned out to be Calderon. Maybe AMLO will get a recount, but probably not. But the election was so close that its besides the point who won.

What the average Mexican wants is some stability in government. They are sick and tired of politicians basically fucking around, all the while being paid huge salaries. They are sick and tired of huge protests, organised by powerful syndicates, disrupting daily life. They are sick and tired of pollution, crime, having to go to the US to make money, police repression, and a million other things.

But above all they are sick of the big C, corruption. This is what is fucking Mexico. One can point the finger at outside interests as much as they like, but corruption is the poison.

Ok, this seems like a pretty depressing and pessimistic outlook of the state of Mexico. But you only have to look back a few yeasr and see that real progress has been made. There is now a real free press. There are free elections, comparatively free of violence and fraud. Someone other than the PRI, who governed for 71 years, can win seats. The state of Nuevo Leon, where I am, is starting to introduce basic legal rights such as a court trial, where you are allowed a defence lawyer. It takes a long time to undo centuries of chaos and mismanagment, and Mexico is just starting on that road.

Hey Phil, than you for such an amazing post - could you tell us a little more? How large a problem is corruption in Mexico and what do you think about Zapitistra getting involved? I love the wikipedia nature of blogs, fascinating to hear the views of someone in Mexico!